Baldewin, Warin, and Gunter were circling close overhead, while the kings of the Earth and Metal Dragons were protecting Alric’s flank with their own mage mates.
“Sora!” Ravi bellowed, and his mage stopped mid-spell and looked up. An expression of pure joy lit his face, and Ravi nearly spiraled in his joy. Luckily, he remembered the squeaking and squealing mage in his arms. Not a good time for acrobatics.
“Don’t set me down! Not with the mages! Don’t set me down!” Nikki suddenly started shouting. Their fingers tightened and they started to shift against Ravi like they were trying to climb onto his back.
Ravi couldn’t blame Nikki for their distrust of mages, considering their dark history, but now was not the best time. Clenching his teeth, Ravi quickly scanned the area for another option. He almost laughed when he found it.
Changing directions, he shot across the sky until he came up alongside a familiar red dragon who was wearing a grumpy expression.
“Hey, Gunter!” he called out.
“Ravi! Where have you been?” Gunter tilted and stretched out his neck so he could sweetly bump his snout against the side of Ravi’s head.
“Sorry I missed all the fun. I need to see Alric and Sora. I also need you to protect them,” he finished, shoving Nikki at Gunter.
The dragon squawked, a little like a dragon-shaped chicken, which was the strangest sound Ravi had ever heard Gunter make. But he accepted Nikki, tucking them close like the precious bundle they were.
“Ravi?”
“Nikki is a mage. Saved my life!” That was all Gunter needed to know.
Ravi wheeled around and dove back for his mate. Nikki would explain the need to stay away from other mages, and, well, Gunter was a dragon. For now, that was enough to make Nikki feel safe.
Against his dragon’s wishes, Ravi shifted when he was within a few feet of Sora and fell the rest of the way to earth. He couldn’t waste time with a proper landing. And if he was a dragon, he couldn’t possibly hold Sora tight enough.
The second Ravi’s feet touched the ground, he was tackled. He blinked and found himself looking skyward with Sora on top of him. Rough kisses peppered his face before their lips finally met in a long, brutal kiss that was more teeth than tenderness. Didn’t matter. He had his mate back. It was such a fucking relief after everything that had happened, Ravi almost shuddered. A tangle of joy, need, and a little worry about still being on a battlefield crashed through him, but it was lost under the sensation of that greedy mouth taking his own without mercy.
“Missed you,” Ravi blissfully murmured when Sora finally lifted his mouth from Ravi’s.
“You are never, ever leaving my sight again,” Sora growled.
“I am totally fine with that.” He pulled Sora in for a slower, gentler kiss. One that could finally say all the things he needed to—thank you, I love you, never let me go.
Almost reluctantly, the kiss ended, and Sora smiled. His eyes remained red-rimmed, and smears of tears streaked his cheeks, but Ravi swore he’d make that pain a distant memory when they were home again.
“I think we need to tell King Alric you’re okay.” Sora pushed to his feet and extended a hand to Ravi, helping him up.
They’d just started back toward where the other mages and Alric were fighting the Jaeggi when a pained roar went up. They jerked around to see one of the metal dragons encased in a cage that glistened with a multitude of colors like stained glass. He was one of the Rocas’ bodyguards. The dragon thrashed against the cage, causing even more damage to his thick hide and wringing sounds of both pain and anger from his throat.
Ravi opened his mouth to shout, preparing to call on his dragon, but Sora beat him to it.
“I’ve got him!” he called out, already reaching into the bag hanging off his shoulder. He pulled out two elements, but Ravi couldn’t tell what they were as Sora ran back to where he’d been standing next to Cameron. His mate looked over his shoulder and smiled.
“Ready?”
“Take all that you need. Everything I am belongs to you,” Ravi replied, and he meant every word of it.
Sora nodded and smashed the vials on the ground. At the same time, he pulled a steady stream of power from Ravi, mixing the energy with the elements until he was once again encased in a bright golden glow.